Where to Put the Bar: Bar Placement in an Event Floor Plan

The bar is a magnet. Wherever you place it, guests will gather, queue and linger. A bar in the wrong spot creates a bottleneck at the door, blocks the path to the restrooms or fills the dance floor with people holding drinks. A few minutes with a sketch of your Chicago banquet hall, loft or tent saves all of that.

Three layouts that work

A. Corner bar. One bar in a back corner, away from the door. Good for small crowds under 75 and for rooms with a service door behind the corner. Guests pass the dining area on the way, so sound and lines can intrude.

B. Two bars. One in the cocktail area and one at the edge of the dance floor. Best for 100 guests or more. It splits the line and keeps people from crossing the whole room.

C. Wall bar. One long bar along a side wall with a wide queue lane in front. This suits a long banquet hall and a plated dinner where most guests go to the bar at the same time.

Rules for placement

These distances are rules of thumb, not codes. A fire marshal or venue manager may have different clearance requirements, so ask your venue about aisle widths and exits.

Count the space

A bar of 8 feet needs about 8 feet by 12 feet of floor for the bar, the bartender zone and the queue, plus 3 feet behind for staff. Two bars need about double. See bar setup for 100 guests for dimensions, and mobile bar vs back bar for how deep each piece is. If you also have a coffee, water or mocktail station, place those away from the main line: see water station ideas.

Common mistakes

• Bar next to the DJ. Guests cannot hear the bartender, and the bartender cannot hear a drink order.
• Bar by the door. Guests arrive, stop and block the entry.
• One long line across a dance floor. Guests crossing the floor with drinks causes spills.
• No place to set glasses. Add cocktail tables near each bar. See how many glasses per guest.
• No sight line to the restrooms. People wander, and lines tangle.

Chicago room types

A hotel ballroom usually has a built-in service corridor, so a bar near that door is easy. A loft or gallery in a former warehouse may have no kitchen, so the bar needs ice, water and glass storage nearby. In a barn or tent in the suburbs, place the bar near an entrance to the tent for deliveries but away from the walkway. Always ask your venue where outlets, doors and drains are. Weather matters outdoors; a bar under a canopy beats one in the sun, and our Layouts and Floor Plans section covers site basics.

Seating near the bar

Put a few tall tables and some chairs near the bar for guests who want to linger, but keep them out of the queue zone. A comfortable cross-back chair or a velvet dining chair in a small lounge area makes a good anchor. For how many chairs to plan in total, see how many chairs do I need.

Plan the bar into your floor plan

We help place bars, tables and chairs on one plan. Book a free 15-minute seating call or request a quote.